The St. Patrick-St. Vincent High School girls basketball team has one more step to take before redeeming last season’s Division IV state title game loss.

The Bruins have to win the big one this time around.

When Northern California champion St. Patrick takes on Southern California champion La Jolla Country Day today at 3:30 p.m. in the California Interscholastic Federation state title game at Arco Arena in Sacramento, there will be a year of frustration to vanquish.

“Last year was a huge letdown,” said sophomore forward Ashley Moore. “We really don’t want to feel the way we felt last year. So I think that we’re going to get it done this year.”

Last year, in their first state title game appearance, the Bruins led Marlborough-Los Angeles by 14 points at halftime, only to all apart in the final two quarters and lose 67-52.

What followed was a tumultuous, if successful, 2007-08 season in which St. Patrick lost two of its first three games, fell in the North Coast Section title game and rallied from fourth-quarter deficits in its final two NorCal regional contests, eventually storming back from a 10-point deficit to beat Justin-Siena 65-60 in the title game.

But the Bruins (29-5) found their way back to the state championship game, and feel they are now equipped with experience and a sense of urgency that may not have been there last year.

Today’s game will mark the end of the Alex Cowling era at St. Patrick. The Loyola Marymount-bound forward is the school’s all-time leading scorer and sparked the most successful two-year stint in the program’s history.

But for Cowling, a brilliant career won’t be defined until after today’s game.

“We can’t look back anymore,” she said. “We have one goal, and it’s coming up right now. If we lose, we’ll have to be carried off the court because we played so hard that we died.”

Though the goal remains the same as a year ago, the opponent has changed. La Jolla Country Day, which disposed of Marlborough 69-53 in the Southern California title game, brings a 26-5 record to Arco. The Torreys also won the San Diego Section to before claiming the Southern California title.

They feature a potent duo with Arizona State-bound 6-foot-3 Janae Fulcher at center and University of San Diego recruit Dominique Conners at point guard.

Because of the larger court at Arco, home of the NBA’s Sacramento Kings, Bruins coach Rod Faucett said he will back off the signature full-court defensive pressure that has allowed his teams to badger opponents into submission.

“We’re going to use pressure defense, but the type of pressure that we’re going to use is not going to be as aggressive,” Faucett said. “We’re going to look for slow traps, more of a containment defense and see if we can’t shorten the court a little bit. We’re going to see how they attack the matchup zone.”

Offensively, St. Patrick will counter the Torreys with Cowling’s bruising inside game. Meanwhile, Moore has shown a deft offensive touch underneath the basket this postseason, and seniors Olivia Reed and Jameiz Terrell are both capable of scoring in double digits. Taylor Rojas is the team’s 3-point specialist and Rechel Carter can provide an offensive spark off the bench.

But Faucett is counting on his team’s 2007 experience to play a big role today.

“I’m betting that my girls have been to this dance before,” he said. “The experience that we carry into this state championship game is going to weigh heavy.”